3 ms·

Libraries (like Internet Archive for one) seem like the logical 'permalink' curators of information collections. I'm thinking, for example, of a large regional

Libraries (like Internet Archive for one) seem like the logical 'permalink' curators of information collections. I'm thinking, for example, of a large regional history site created by a a 501(c)(3) corporation. [https://www.historylink.org/ https://www.historylink.org/] Such efforts deserve a guaranteed permanent home with permanent funding. Another example: hundreds of 'Old-time-radio' programs and early TV shows have only emerged and survived because of enthusiasts. If they disappeared from Youtube .... It'd be good to set up a universal 'permalink' library system (UPLS) like the DOI system and its 'persistent interoperable identifiers'. This could (and, at least in part, must) be publicly-funded. Anyone who wishes could apply for a unique ID. Then, subject to a set of specs from some participating library ("yes, we'll host that"), they could package that content with metadata. Backups must be ensured. If eventually the content needs to move (or can't find a home), the ID (and metadata) remains.

0xbadcafebee 5y ago
I think about used book stores, libraries, the library of congress, and just shelves in people's homes. All of that allows books to survive, when they're printed enough, and people actually want them. Lots of books, magazines, newspapers do not survive because nobody wants to read them. We don't keep a super-archive of every piece of paper ever published, because we acknowledge that it's OK for things to die. Important things we keep, useless things we throw away. It's irrational to hoard garbage. So really, all we need is to proactively decide what we do want to save, and save it as soon as it's published. Maybe also provide a "digital shelf" for people to keep their own copies, and a standard way to search for and distribute that information, like NNTP + Gnutella for e-books (along with some features to avoid being sued a la DMCA). The rest should be allowed to rot like fallen logs in the woods.

0xbadcafebee 5y ago

I think about used book stores, libraries, the library of congress, and just shelves in people's homes. All of that allows books to survive, when they're printed enough, and people actually want them. Lots of books, magazines, newspapers do not survive because nobody wants to read them. We don't keep a super-archive of every piece of paper ever published, because we acknowledge that it's OK for things to die. Important things we keep, useless things we throw away. It's irrational to hoard garbage. So really, all we need is to proactively decide what we do want to save, and save it as soon as it's published. Maybe also provide a "digital shelf" for people to keep their own copies, and a standard way to search for and distribute that information, like NNTP + Gnutella for e-books (along with some features to avoid being sued a la DMCA). The rest should be allowed to rot like fallen logs in the woods.